LYNN — After falling short of the state tournament by two points at the end of last season, the Classical girls soccer team came into the 2018 campaign with elevated expectations.
“The tournament has been the goal since I took over here as coach last season,” coach Mark Ierardi said “We narrowly missed the tournament last year and I flat out told the girls going into this season, ‘If we don’t get in this year you should consider it a disappointment.'”
The season has been far from a disappointment thus far. The Rams are currently 6-4-1 and are only five points away from clinching a tournament berth.
“We are finding ways to win close games this season where last year we weren’t,” Ierardi said. “We are playing sound positionally and in the games that are close we are finding ways to win them.”
Ierardi has seen his team win games against opponents like Winthrop and Gloucester- teams the Rams struggled with in the past. The Rams have also seen key contributions from everyone on the roster including backup goalkeeper Alex Show, who went 2-1-1 when starter Anna Flaherty was injured.
“We are getting contributions by everyone on different nights,” Ierardi said. “Against Winthrop we took an early lead and had to hang on for a 4-3 win. The Gloucester game came down to the last few minutes and Julia Jordan scored a clutch goal to put us ahead. Last year we found ourselves on the short side of games like that but our defense has been good this year.”
A second-year captain, Jordan has been the Rams’ second leading goal scorer in her senior season.
“She’s one of our captains and probably our best all-around player,” Ierardi said of Jordan. “She just has a good feel for the game. Julia is almost like a quasi-coach out there on the field.”
After moving back to sweeper last season due to injuries to teammates, Jordan has settled in at outside midfielder this season.
“I think this year has been one of my stronger years,” Jordan, a senior, said. “Moving to midfield, I get more chances to score but playing with certain players around me helps too. I would play any position the team needs me at, I just love soccer but I do like offense more than defense. Scoring a goal is always exciting.
“Sweeper is an important position and our sweeper Chloe Kebreau has been unbelievable this year and having her back here has helped,” Jordan added.
Jordan and the Rams have put a high emphasis on improving their skills at practice and during the offseason.
“The way we practice is the way we play,” Jordan said. “We have been focusing more on foot skills and making sure every player knows what they are doing on the field. Communication is huge for us.
“A lot of girls including myself have been playing club soccer in the offseason,” Jordan added. “I think it’s shown this year and everyone’s foot skills and knowledge of the game have improved.”
Being this close to clinching a state tournament bid with an experienced team is something Jordan is excited about, but she doesn’t want the Rams to stop there.
“This is definitely the season to try to make it,” Jordan said. “We have lost a few players for different reasons but we have nine seniors so our team is experienced this year. Making states during my senior season, that would be a memory that you can’t forget. It would be really be exciting.
“Now we are about two wins and a tie away from states,” Jordan added. “But that’s not how I see it. We should win as many as we can for the rest of the season so we improve for the playoffs.”